Verb Phrases and Tenses

Verb phrases

Verb Phrase contains verbs which can be lexical, auxiliary, or modal. The head is the first verb in the verb phrase. Example: 

"I didn't notice Rowen around tonight," remarked Don, as they began to prepare for bed. "Might have been sulking in his tent," grinned Terry." Here, the verb phrase "might have been sulking" has the form "modal-auxiliary-auxiliary-lexical."

A verb phrase contains the following optional features:

A modal verb (e.g., will)

The verb have to express perfect aspect

The verb be to express progressive aspect

The verb be to express passive voice

The modal comes first, then the auxiliary or several auxiliaries, and finally the lexical (main) verb.When a verb phrase has a combination of modal and auxiliaries, it is constituted usually in the following order: modal verb >> perfect have >> progressive be >> passive be >> Lexical verb. Whichever verbs are used in the verb phrase, the first verb is conjugated for tense, person and number.

The following table shows the different collections of these features being used.

Tenses

Verb phrases can vary with tense, in which case they are called "tensed verb phrases. Example:

"They have accomplished a lot this year, but they accomplished even more last year."

There are several non-finite constructions as well:

The infinitive phrase with "to". Examples:

"Did you see her, chief—did you get a glimpse of her pleasant countenance, or come close enough to her ear, to sing in it the song she loves to hear?"

"She got so she could tell big stories herself from listening to the rest. Because she loved to hear it, and the men loved to hear themselves, they would 'woof' and 'boogerboo' around the games to the limit."

Constructions with the "-ing" form, called the gerund or present participle. Examples:

"From the very beginning, Coltrane was an indefatigable worker at his saxophone spending hours upon hours practicing every day."

"By assuming a good position and by practicing every day he will in time acquire a feeling and an appearance of ease before people."

The time frame of a non-tensed verb phrase is determined by examining that of the main clause verb.

For example :

in the first example above the time frame (past) of "practicing" is determined by "was" in the main clause; in the second, the time frame (present and future) of "practicing" is determined by "will in time," also in the main clause.

The verb phrase in English has the following forms:

1)      a main verb

	Verb
We I Everybody We	Are Like Saw leughed	Here It The accident

The verb may be in the present tense (are, like) or the past tense (saw, laughed). A verb phrase with only a main verb expresses simple aspect

2)      an auxiliary verb ("be") and a main verb in –ing form:

	Auxiliary”be”	Verb (-ing)
Everybody We	Is were	Watching Laughing

A verb phrase with "be" and –ing expresses continuous aspect.

3)      an auxiliary verb ("have") and a main verb with past participle:

	Auxillary “heve”	Verb ( past participle )
They Everybody He	Have Has had	Enjoyed Worked finished	Themselves Hard work

A verb with "have" and the past participle expresses perfect aspect. A verb with have/has expresses present perfect, and a verb with had expresses past perfect.

4)      an auxiliary verb ("have" + "been") and a main verb in the –ing form:

	Auxiliary “have” + “Been	Verb (-ing)
Everybody He	Has been Had been	Working singing	hard

A verb with "have" and "been" and the present participle expresses perfect continuous aspect. A verb with have/hasexpresses present perfect continuous, and a verb with had expresses past perfect continuous.

5)      a modal verb (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would) and a main verb:

	Modal Verb	Main Verb
They He	Will Might	Come Come

 

6)      We can use modal verbs with the auxiliaries "be", "have", and "have been":

	Modal	Auxilliary	Verb
They He She	Will Might must	Be Have Have been	Listening Arrived listening

Sumber  :

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/verb-phrases

http://ayuyulistiati.blogspot.co.id/2015/03/verb-phrases-and-tenses.html